How To Make An Email Signature On Gmail: Quick And Easy Guide

How To Make A Signature On Gmail - businessyield.com

Are you wondering how to make a signature on Gmail in order to make your emails look professional and smart? Well, I am pleased to tell you that it is very easy.

In fact, you can do it in less than a minute.

No time to waste time. Let us dive right in.

How To Make A Signature On Gmail

Step One: Open Gmail Settings

On the top right of your Gmail screen, click on the gear icon and then click “See all settings” in the Quick settings panel.

Step Two: Create a new signature

Hit Ctrl + f (Windows) or ⌘ + f (Mac) to open the “search on page” box > type in “signature” and hit Enter to find the signature editor in Gmail Settings.  

Alternatively, you can scroll down the Settings tab and look for the section entitled “Signature”.

Find the “Create new” button and click it.

NOTE: Many people are looking to add a complex structure or advanced features to their signature, but this requires editing the signature’s HTML (which this guide does not cover).

Step Three: Name your signature

Give your signature a name > and hit “Create”. Be sure to use a name that will help you identify your signature later on. This will make it easy to distinguish in the future if you want to make multiple Gmail signatures.

Step Four: Add your signature details

Click inside the signature editor text box. Type in your full name, job title, company name, and contact information. You can use consecutive underscores to create a separator line between your name and job title, and your contact info.

Step Five: Edit your Gmail signature

You can edit your Gmail signature design with a few simple steps to make it look much more professional.

Change font size:

  • Select the text you would like to edit
  • Click on the tT icon at the left of the toolbar > choose the text size you’d like to use (Small, Normal, Large, or Huge)

Change text color:

  • Click on the A icon at the right of the signature editor’s toolbar
  • Pick the text color you’d like to use from the right-side color pallet

Change signature font:

  • Click where it says “San serif” on the left side of the editor’s toolbar
  • Choose the font you’d like to use for your signature

To get the most professional signature, you should use both text size and text color to create a visual hierarchy. Set your name, job title, and company name as “Large” text, set your name in Bold or ALL CAPS, and use color to make important text stand out.

Add a link to your website:

  • Select the text you’d like to be clickable
  • Click the “Link” icon in the bottom toolbar
  • Add the full web address of your link (including the https:// )
  • Click “OK

Add a clickable phone number:

(when clicked on from a mobile device, the link will directly initiate a call)

  • Select the number you’d like to make clickable
  • Click the “Link” icon in the bottom toolbar
  • Type in “tel:” and then add in your phone number (e.g. tel:+1-202-918-2132)
  • Click “OK

Tip: if you’d like to add a banner to your email signature you can click below the signature you’ve made and add in your banner as another image.

Step Seven: Set auto Gmail signatures

You can tell Gmail which signature to set as your auto signature from the settings just below the signature editor. You can set an auto signature for your New messages as well as for your Reply and Froward messages.

  • Click the dropdown menu directly below the Gmail signature editor
  • Choose the signature you’d like to set as your automatic signature

Tip: Set your full signature with your signature image as default for new messages, and set a minimalistic signature or none at all as your default for Reply and Forward messages. The reason for this is that, in long email strings, big signatures add up and make things clunky.

Features you can add to your Gmail signature

Here are some features you can add to your Gmail signature:

  • Youtube video thumbnail
  • Custom button
  • Hand signature sign off
  • Instagram Gallery
  • Quote of the day
  • Banner
  • Online payment button
  • Scheduler
  • Email disclaimer
  • Sales event link
  • Green footer

How to add social media icons to an Email Signature

There are a few ways to add social media icons to your email signature. The fastest and easiest way is to use an email signature generator, but you can also add them as an image directly within your email client.

Let’s dive into both methods one by one.

Method I: Use an Email Signature Generator

We recommend using a signature generator, which will:

  • Automatically size the social media icons properly.
  • Make sure your icons match your theme.
  • Align the icons properly with the rest of the signature.
  • Ensure your links are active.

Otherwise, you’ll have to manually add the social media icons to your email signature as images and link these images with your social profiles. This method requires more effort and technical know-how.

Follow these steps to add social media icons to your email signature:

  • Choose your preferred email signature template.
  • Simply paste your social links into the right fields, and the generator does the rest. 
  • Adjust the look to suit your brand or style.
  • Add your headshot, company logo, and CTA (optional).
  • Copy the image or the source code and paste it into your email client.

Method II: Add an Image Within Your Email Client

In case you are already happy with your existing signature and you just need to add social media icons, most email clients (like Gmail, Outlook, etc.) will allow you to add them as an image to your signature and then link them with your social media channels. However, adding images as attachments to your outgoing emails can affect your delivery rates.

While Gmail allows you to add social media icons as images using the image address or URL, it is impossible in the case of other email clients like Outlook, Yahoo Mail, and Apple Mail.

To add social media icons as images to your email signature, follow these steps:

  • Find icons of the right size, shape, and color. (We’ve got some options below).
  • Right-click the image of the icon and select “Copy image address” or “Copy image URL,” in case you’re looking to upload to Gmail. For other email clients, you’ll have to download the social media icons in the form of images and link them to your profiles.
  • In your email client’s signature editor, click on “Insert image.”
  • Paste the image URL into the field given (in Gmail) or upload social media icons as images (in the case of other email clients).
  • Adjust the placement and alignment of the icon if needed.
  • Copy the social link that matches the icon you’re adding.
  • Highlight the newly added icon image and click “Insert link.”
  • Paste the social link into the field.

How to Add Social Media Icons to Gmail Signature

To add social media icons to your Gmail signature, follow these steps.

  • Click on the settings icon in the top-right corner.
  • Click on “See all settings.”
  • Scroll down until you see the email signature editor.
  • Click on “+ Create New” button.
  • You’ll be asked to name your new signature. Once you type in the name, click on “Create.” If you’re looking to add social media icons to your existing signature, just click on the edit icon for that particular signature.
  • Now, you can either paste the signature from your signature generator or follow the instructions in Method II to add social media icons to your existing signature in the form of images.
  • Under “Signature defaults,” select your new signature. You can do it for both – new and reply/forwarded emails.
  • Scroll to the bottom and click “Save changes.”

How to Add Social Media Icons to Apple Mail Signature

  • Click on “Mail” and then “Settings” in the top-left corner.
  • Click on the “Signatures” tab.
  • Click on the “+” button, as displayed in the screenshot below.
  • Name your email signature. 
  • Paste the email signature that you created with the signature generator. Or follow the instructions in the Method II section to add images.
  • Uncheck the box that says “Always match my default message font.”
  • Close the pop-up window.

Should I put social media icons in my email signature?

Yes, you should put social media icons in your email signature. 20% of Millennial and Gen-Z consumers outright prefer to use social media for customer service, according to a study by ZenDesk.

But no matter what generation your customers are, giving them more options makes it easier for them to contact you.

What size should my social media icons be?

Your social media icons need to be large enough that your recipients can easily click or tap on them. But they must still be small enough to prevent distraction from the rest of your email signature.

If you’re adding them manually, start by looking for icons that are roughly 21px by 21px and adjust from there.

Otherwise, an email signature generator should automatically size them to fit your signature.

What social media sites should I include in my email signature?

Your email signature should include three to five links to the social media sites that are most relevant to your business.

For example, a freelance photographer would definitely want to include Instagram. On the other hand, a recruiting agency would want to be sure to include LinkedIn.

Whatever you decide, just be sure not to include any unused icons. Broken links of any kind can make your emails seem unprofessional.

Some popular social media sites to consider include:

  • TikTok
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn

For LinkedIn URL

  1. Click on the “Me” icon in the top right of the homepage.
  2. You’ll see a drop-down menu. Click on “View Profile.”
  3. Copy the URL from the URL bar of your browser.
  4. Your link will look like this: www.linkedin.com/in/[username]

For Facebook URL

  1. Click on your Facebook account’s profile picture icon in the top-right corner.
  2. Select your account’s name to land on your profile.
  3. Copy the URL from the URL bar of your browser.
  4. Your link will look like this: https://www.facebook.com/[username]

For Twitter URL

  1. Click on “Profile” in the left-hand navigation bar.
  2. Copy the URL from the URL bar of your browser.
  3. Your link will look like this: https://www.twitter.com/[username]

For Instagram URL

  1. Click on your username in the top-right corner.
  2. Copy the URL from the URL bar of your browser.
  3. Your link will look like this: https://www.instagram.com/[username]/

For TikTok URL

  1. Click on your profile picture in the top-right corner.
  2. Copy the URL from the URL bar of your browser.
  3. Your link will look like this: https://www.tiktok.com/@[username]

For YouTube URL

  1. Click on your profile picture in the top-right corner.
  2. Select “Your channel.”
  3. Click on “Customize channel.”
  4. You’ll be redirected to YouTube Studio. Now, select “Basic info.”
  5. Scroll down to find the Channel URL or Custom URL. You can use either of these links.
  6. Your link will either look like: www.youtube.com/c/[username] or www.youtube.com/channel/[channel ID]

For Pinterest URL

  1. Click on your profile picture in the top-right corner.
  2. Copy the URL from the URL bar of your browser.
  3. Your link will look like this: https://www.pinterest.com/[username]

In general, your social media icons should link to your business’s social media accounts. This creates a uniform customer experience, and it’s also a great way to boost your number of followers.

The exception to this rule is an employee who needs to be contacted directly. For example, a recruiter or sales rep may find it useful to link to their professional LinkedIn account.

You’ll want to avoid linking to personal accounts, even if you’re the sole owner of the business. Your private social media may not always reflect the image you want to convey to your customers.

References

Hubspot

Wisestamp

Microsoft Support

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